“Legalizing pot didn’t increase the number of smokers, it merely changed who they buy from”
And that hasn’t panned out as Tax revenue is running well behind plan. Reason? black market pot is plenty strong, and a lot cheaper. Did anyone think the Cartels would take this laying down?
I don't think it's ditchweed they're selling in the legal stores. Above a certain point, strength is irrelevant - one takes as many hits as needed to get high.
and a lot cheaper. Did anyone think the Cartels would take this laying down?
It's not an issue of cartel intent - it's whether taxes and regulations are so stringent as to hobble the legal market to the point where the cartels can keep up. Keep taxes and regulation modest, and what happens to the cartels will be what happened to the mob when Prohibition ended: they were competed out of any significant share of the market.
That's because politicians are idiots and they had plans to spend the money before it even came in so of course they predicted sky high revenues.
Did anyone think the Cartels would take this laying down?
Cartels have nothing to do with it. Most of the pot in America is domestic.